


Please Don't Go

by gayliensav



Series: askdarus related fics [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl feels so alone and lost without Paul, Grief, Hints of the Whisperers, I'm Sorry, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 07:44:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9062896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayliensav/pseuds/gayliensav
Summary: Paul's funeral happened on a warm, sunny day. It was the type of day Paul would have liked. Daryl stood with their son, at his husband's grave, not sure what he was supposed to do now. How could he go on without him?They didn't even have a body to bury.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Set three years after the Christmas oneshots, but you don't have to read them to understand. Just know that Paul and Daryl adopted a baby boy that they named Richard.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah?”

“I miss ‘im.”

Daryl kneeled down to their son and swallowed, “Me too, bud,” he said quietly, keeping his voice down, “It’s gonna be okay though…I promise.”

Richie’s eyes filled with tears, “When’s he comin’ back?”

Daryl looked away. He wasn’t going to be like Avery was the rest of his life…he couldn’t be. He couldn’t put his son through the waiting game when he knew what had probably happened.

It was supposed to be a simple run with Dante. They would be gone a week, take one car, raid the shop that was a state away, and try to find some gas. After that, they were supposed to turn around and come back.

That had been three months ago.

A search party was sent out on day three, they came back on day five. They found their car, the doors were still open and it had been completely raided. They’d found blood on the driver’s seat as well and for a while, they thought Dante had died. Paul was always the navigator, he didn’t drive often on their runs.

Dante showed up a week later, half starved and covered in dirt. He said something about walkers talking…Daryl was pretty sure the poor guy was traumatized. He said he and Paul got separated when a heard that moved impossibly fast for a group of walkers attacked them with weapons.

Like he said, _traumatized_.

Paul never showed up, so the next time Daryl went out. He knew it was against their rule…one of them was supposed to be in the same town as their son at all times…but he couldn’t leave his partner out there.

If there was any hope, Daryl would find it.

He found a lot worse. Paul’s coat and hat were in the woods, covered in blood.

Daryl had spent a month solid in their room at the trailer, barely coming out. He never thought Paul would…be _gone_. He couldn’t imagine his life without him. He didn’t know why, in this world, he had hope of getting to keep someone. It was amazing that he’d even found someone like Paul in the first place.

And now he was gone.

After a month, Maggie snapped. She said their son needed them and that kind of sprung him into action. Paul wouldn’t want Richie growing up without a father and neither did Daryl.

He had to take care of him.

He just didn’t know how to tell him that Paul was gone.

“Hey,” Aaron said, walking up to them after the service, “How are you?”

They’d finally convinced Daryl to let them have a service and give Paul a resting place. They’d all accepted that the scout was gone now.

Daryl just pursed his lips, looking down at the grave. It was right with Abraham and Glenn, where he belonged.

He belonged with the heroes.

“If you need anything, please let me know,” Aaron said quietly, “I know it’s hard, but you’ll move passed this. You won’t forget him, but one day…maybe you can be happy again.”

“Uncle Aaron,” Richie looked up at him, “Why daddy sad?”

Aaron glanced over at Daryl’s blank face and kneeled down, “Well, buddy, he just misses your pops is all,” he said, picking the three year-old up, “How about you and I go see Hershel, huh? Let’s give your daddy a minute.”

Daryl watched them walk away before turning back to the marking.

They didn’t even have a body to bury.

“You stupid son of a bitch,” Daryl snapped, looking down at the marker with Paul’s _stupid_ beanie on it, “You can’t just…you can’t just _leave_. It’s not fair. You can’t leave me with him a-and I don’t even know how to raise ‘im without you!” he yelled, kicking the ground in front of the marker, “You can’t leave me!” he took a shaky breath, tears filling his eyes,  “You can’t…” he trailed off, a sob ripping from his throat as he kneeled down, “Please, don’t… _please_ …”

Daryl didn’t know how long he sat there for. He wasn’t keeping track of the time. He didn’t care. Paul was _gone_.

At some point, it started to get dark and he heard the gates open. He didn’t care. He still didn’t move. He didn’t _want_ to move.

“DARYL!” Maggie yelled, running over, “DARYL, HEY!”

Daryl sat up when he heard the urgency in her voice, “What’s happenin’?” he demanded, “Richie okay?”

“Come with us,” Rick said suddenly, appearing with Maggie, “We need you back in Alexandria. Now.”

“What?” Daryl demanded, his voice hoarse from yelling and begging, “The hell you doin’ here, Rick?”

“Get Richie, we have to go, I’ll explain on the way,” Rick said quickly, “C’mon, Daryl, move,” he said and turned back to Maggie, “I’m gonna need Dr. Carson and Alex to come with us, we need all the help we can get.”

Daryl stared at him before he took off in the direction of Barrington.

* * *

“Ya stupid sonuva bitch,” Daryl muttered, staring up at his partner. His hands were shaking as he gripped Paul’s hand. His husband was lying in bed, unconscious. His beautiful face had cuts and bruises on it…Harlan said that it was mild; dehydration and malnourishment were more serious than what happened to his face.

“What the fuck happened?” Daryl mumbled to himself. He rested his forehead on the edge of the bed.

“DADDY!” Richie squealed happily.

Daryl looked up and saw Aaron in the doorway with Richie on his back, Eric beside them.

“Hey, buddy,” Daryl said, his voice tired, “Uncle Aaron givin’ you a piggy back?”

“Yeah!” Richie’s eyes widened when he saw Paul on the bed, “Dada,” he whispered, squirming to get down.

“Sweetie, be careful,” Eric said, helping him down.

Richie ran over to the edge of the bed, trying to climb up on it. He put his arms up on the bed and kept trying to jump to pull himself up.

“Careful,” Daryl said, helping him up, “Ya gotta be gentle. Daddy’s a little hurt right now.”

“Wha’ happen?” Richie asked, his eyes wide as he sat on the bed.

“Not sure yet, buddy,” Daryl said quietly, “But he’s gonna be okay, don’t you worry,” he looked over to Aaron and Eric and mouthed a thank you to them before turning back to his husband and child.

 _Please, wake up,_ Daryl thought, looking down at him.

* * *

Daryl was asleep, his head resting on his hand as he sat in the chair. Rick had taken Richie back to their house a few hours ago so he could sleep in an actual bed. He blinked a few times as he came to…there was no way he was going to be able to sleep soundly until he knew Paul was okay.

He looked down and froze when he saw Paul’s eyes were open, “Paul?” he breathed out. He looked at the dead stare his husband was sending towards the ceiling of the recovery room and grabbed his hand, trying to ground him, “Paul, hey, look at me. M’here.”

Paul blinked a few times and finally focused on him, “Daryl,” he breathed out.

“Lemme getcha some water,” Daryl said, grabbing the pitcher from the table quickly and a cup with shaky hands. He didn’t like the look on Paul’s face…he wasn’t all _there_.

“Thank you,” Paul rasped out.

Daryl sat on the edge of the bed and put the cup down as he helped him sit up, “C’mon, let’s getcha sittin’ up,” he said, helping him so his back was resting on the mountain of pillows Daryl had stolen from various people in Alexandria. He grabbed the cup and put it to his partner’s lips and laughed weakly when Paul started to drink the water quickly, “Take it slow, it ain’t goin’ no where.”

“They were talking,” Paul breathed out when he finally stopped.

“What?” Daryl demanded, going to refill the cup.

Paul grabbed onto his arm before he could get up, “The walkers, Daryl…they spoke to us.”

“Paul, they can’t…” he trailed off helplessly. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Dante and Paul were both having the same story now.

He could figure this shit out later.

“Just lemme getcha some more ta drink and ya can relax,” Daryl said, filling up the cup again, “Ya drink this, I’m gonna go get Harlan and try to find ya some food.”

“Where’s Richie?” Paul asked before he got two steps in the direction of the door, “Can I see him?”

“He’s asleep at Rick’s,” Daryl told him and studied his expression…he was _desperate_ , “I’ll get ‘im, okay? Been dyin’ ta see ya anyways,” he said, walking out quickly.

* * *

 

“Spoutin’ all that stuff, just like Dante,” Daryl explained to Harlan was he walked back to the medical room, a tired looking Richie in his arms and a tupperware container with a baked potato in it. He just popped it in the microwave, he didn’t have very much time to prepare something that Paul deserved.

He walked in the room and smiled at Paul, “Look who I got,” he said. Suddenly, it was like he could look at Paul a little more. He was _skinnier_ than before. He knew that he’d been malnourished, but…he didn’t see it until he stepped away. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and his shoulders were moving quickly at the pace he was breathing; it was way too fast.

“There he is,” Paul breathed out, “How’s my baby?”

“Dada!” Richie yelled, trying to squirm from Daryl’s arms, “Dada, dada, dada.”

“Gimma a minute, kid,” Daryl laughed weakly, putting him down on the bed, “Rich, gentle,” he told him quickly.

Richie climbed on top of Paul, wrapping his arms around his neck and breathing heavily. Little tears started to well in his green eyes as he held onto him, “Dada.”

“I’m okay, buddy,” Paul said, rubbing his back, “Shh…I’m here.”

“Miss ya,” Richie sniffled, burying his face in his shoulder, “Me and daddy missed ya.”

“I know, I missed you too,” Paul told him, a weak smile on his face. He had tears in his eyes as well, but he wasn’t letting them fall.

“Don’ go ‘way again, dada,” Richie told him, his voice firm. He was copying Paul’s _“eat your vegetables”_ voice he got at the dinner table all the time and it made Daryl laugh under his breath.

“I won’t, don’t worry,” Paul told him, kissing his head and rocking him slowly.

“Richie,” Harlan said gently, “Do you mind if I take a look at your daddy? I just want to make sure he’s doing okay.”

Richie looked to Daryl, waiting for him to say it. He knew his daddy wanted to _always_ protect his dada, so that meant he would know what to do, right?

Daryl nodded and held his arms around, helping Richie down from the bed, “Just for a minute, bud, we gotta let ‘im take care ‘a ‘im.”

Richie nodded, his face serious…well, as serious as a three year-old could look.

* * *

“Doc says you’re gonna be okay in a few days, if ya keep eatin’ and keep drinkin’,” Daryl explained. He was looking at Paul holding Richie in his arms as their son slept.

Paul nodded, putting his head back, “We should stay here…for a little while. Just until I’m healthy enough to travel.”

“Yeah,” Daryl said, going quiet for a moment before he spoke up again, “Ya were sayin’…ya said they _talked_ , Paul.”

Paul nodded, picking nervously at the potato in the bowl. It was hard, eating with one hand, but he didn’t mind because he was getting to hold Richie.

“I know it sounds…crazy,” Paul admitted softly, “But it happened. I heard them,” he took a shaky breath, “They chased me a-and I lost my way. They chased me so far, Daryl. I lost Dante…oh shit, _Dante_ is he-“

“He’s okay, he’s at Hilltop,” Daryl assured him quickly.

Paul nodded slowly, breathing a sigh of relief, “Good, good.”

“What happened after that?” Daryl asked.

“I got lost,” Paul said quietly, “I finally found a few signs…apparently I made it all the way to Georgia,” he laughed bitterly, “After that, I managed to find my way to Oceanside and passed out on poor Beatrice.”

Daryl nodded slowly, continuing to listen.

“They did what they could, but they don’t exactly have a lot of medical supplies. Syd brought me here…then they sent for you and Harlan,” Paul swallowed, “I had no idea…how long it had been, Daryl, I’m so sorry-“

“Don’t,” Daryl said quickly, “Don’t apologize, okay? I’m just…m’glad you’re here.”

Paul sent him a smile and put the bowl on the table. He wrapped his arms around Richie and started to hum, continuing to rock him.

Daryl got up slowly and moved into the small space beside him. He put his arm around his shoulders and kissed the side of his head. He had no idea what Paul was talking about…and they were sure as hell going to find out.

But right now he just wanted to relax with his family.


End file.
